What seems to be the common factor that conjoins Lysistrata, In the Lake of the Woods, and The Things They Carried consist of two main ideas. The first is the men's unwillingness to give up the war that has engulfed their whole being. The second is the draw to their home life with a special love that constantly fills their minds keeping them going.
In each of the three books it is hard for the men to give up the war. Lysistrata shows to what extremes the women have to go to as she explains her plan to Kleonike to end the war and keep their men home, Lysistrata states, "I see our way to salvation in just such ornamentation, in slippers and lips, rouge and perfumes, negligees and décolletage." …
